In the midst of a heated primary battle, an activist blogger, and avid foe of United States Senator Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi), was arrested for photographing the senator’s bedridden wife, then posting the image in a video political "hit piece" on the internet. He is, as Politico notes, who Cochran thought he was:
The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Clayton Thomas Kelly, maintains a political blog where he has posted statements attacking the senator and advocating for his defeat in the June 3 Republican primary. Referring to himself online as “Constitutional Clayton,” Kelly has railed against the United Nations and written in support of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s standoff with the federal Bureau of Land Management.
A source close to the senator confirmed that Kelly posted an image of Rose Cochran online as part of a video attacking her husband.
Senator Cochran is currently neck and neck with conservative state Sen. Chris McDaniel. Unsurprisingly, Cochran’s campaign flipped the script:
U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's campaign is questioning how Chris McDaniel's campaign manager, state Sen. Melanie Sojourner, apparently knew about Clayton Kelly's arrest before news of him allegedly sneaking into Rose Cochran's nursing home room and taking photos broke.
Sojourner, reportedly, left a voice mail message for Cochran campaign manager Kirk Sims refuting the suggestion, maintaining that the McDaniel's campaign doesn't condone it.
A spokesman for the Chris McDaniel campaign issued a statement condemning Kelly: “Senator McDaniel has denounced the break-in and called Senator Cochran to extend his condolences. It is unconscionable for the Cochran campaign and the liberal media to use the act of a sick individual to lob despicable accusations.”
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